An audience of Morgan Creek Preserve homeowners cheered Monday afternoon when the Lakeland city attorney explained the significance of city commissioners’ tie vote: The developer may not proceed with a plan to move a scenic retention pond so eight more houses could be built.
A clash between the developer and residents of a gated community near Lakeland Linder Airport appears to be a straightforward case but it’s not: Morgan Creek Preserve homeowners want to stop Landstar Lakeland from moving a portion of a visually appealing stormwater retention pond to make room for eight houses.
Florida Southern College plans to buy the 2.1-acre grassy lot at the southwest corner of Ingraham and Palmetto from Grace Lutheran Church for an undisclosed amount. FSC did not comment on the pending sale, but the church’s interim pastor said college officials told her they plan to build apartments, which are allowed under current zoning.
Temple Emanuel is unable to use the sanctuary of its building on Lake Hollingsworth a year after Hurricane Irma’s driving rains infiltrated the building, exposed asbestos in the ceiling and soaked the carpets. The congregation is working with FEMA on a solution.
The speed limit on Lake Morton Drive will be reduced from 25 mph to 20 mph next week, the first change implemented to combat the distracted driving that has injured a runner and killed five swans in recent weeks.
New signs will be posted next week, Lakeland traffic operations manager Angelo Rao said.
Muralist Tim Haas and his assistant freshen up a sign marking the Cleveland Heights neighborhood. #showmeasign
Nearby residents have a message for people driving around Lake Morton: Put down your phone and watch out for the lake’s many human and winged pedestrians. The neighborhood association meets with city officials tonight at 7 at 1001 Success Ave. to discuss solutions to the distracted driving that has injured a runner and killed five swans in recent weeks. Among the possible solutions are five proposed by the city that are the subject of an online survey.
ONLY IN SWAN CITY: In the last week, we’ve posted photos of “Drive Like Your Kids Live Here” signs and written about distracted driving killing swans on Lake Morton. But we didn’t think the two would come together so soon in one sign. “Drive Like Your Swans Live Here” signs were created and posted by First United Methodist Church, including this one on church property at Lake Morton Drive and Vistabula Street.
Ron Cunningham, who once covered local issues as the Tallahassee reporter for The Ledger and its sister papers, ponders the recent swan deaths on Lake Morton and cites statistics showing a heavy toll in local pedestrian-vehicle collisions. Now retired, he’s a bicycling activist based in Gainesville. In a guest column, he calls on city leaders to prioritize traffic-calming measures that make streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists.
